Brand Your Coaching Niche As Taught in Business Coaching Training, Career Coach Certification, Executive Coaching Certification, and Life Coach Training at The Center for Coaching Certification

Branding is the one thing that, with all other factors being equal, makes your product stand distinct from the rest. With completion of the business coaching training, career coach certification, life coach training, or executive coaching certification at the Center for Coaching Certification, each participant is given access to the coach login page. One of the tools there is a road map or process for creating a Mission Statement and a Vision Statement so you tailor it for your coaching niche. Keep in mind that the statement without branding is incomplete, the Ying is missing its Yang.

As taught in business coaching training, career coach certification, executive coaching certification and life coach training at the Center for Coaching Certification, it is in many cases as simple as having walked-the-walk yourself. For example, if your niche area is “Transition Coaching” and in addition to the formal coach training, you have also been through the transition process yourself at any time in your life, that is a significant thing that you bring to your niche; that supports you branding yourself in a way that is unique from other coaches.

The good news is that if your own transition was wrought with missteps and faux pas, you have the best hook in your niche – you know what NOT to do as well as learning through experience options that work. Think of all the things you bring to your brand just by that one fact! You have (1) Experience – “I know what to expect and how to handle it” (2) Authenticity – “I can truly empathize at every step” and (3) Clout – “I know it can be done because I have done it” so reflect on your learning and how you now support others exploring and learning.

Answers to a few simple questions help you brand your niche (Hint: They are all centered around your innate passion):

1. What was it that motivated you to select your niche?
2. What is the one thing about your niche area that excites you the most?
3. What about it appeals to you to the extent of exciting you?

Use the answers to these questions as a launching pad for developing your message.

As taught in business coaching training, career coach certification, executive coaching certification, and life coach training at the Center for Coaching Certification, above all, make sure your brand is one you are passionate about, get excited discussing, and engage in because you enjoy the work. That is basic brand sustainability.

Length of Coaching Engagement after Executive Coaching Certification, Business Coach Training, Career Coach Certification, or Life Coach Training

As taught in the Center for Coaching Certification’s executive coaching certification, business coach training, career coach certification, or life coach training the average coaching relationship lasts one year. Some coaching relationships are just a few sessions and others continue for several years. For internal coaching programs, in the program manual provide parameters for the length of the coaching engagement.

Often a minimum time period makes sense because this creates and supports commitment to the process. Additionally, coaching is a process and creating meaningful change takes time.

Ultimately it is important that the coaching is providing value. Whether just getting started or after a period of time, the Center for Coaching Certification’s executive coaching certification, business coach training, career coach certification, or life coach training teach that the key consideration in whether to continue is the benefit the coachee is gaining from the coaching relationship. The International Coach Federation, ICF, Code of Ethics addresses this specifically in Section 3:

19) I will respect the client’s right to terminate the coaching relationship at any point during the process, subject to the provisions of the agreement or contract. I will be alert to indications that the client is no longer benefiting from our coaching relationship.

20) I will encourage the client or sponsor to make a change if I believe the client or sponsor would be better served by another coach or by another resource.

21) I will suggest my client seek the services of other professionals when deemed necessary or appropriate.

In an organization with a coaching program, often there is a goal of creating a coaching culture. This means coaching is happening informally and coaching skills are applied in conversations generally. In this case, the coaching conversations are a part of the culture instead of being formally scheduled.

Scheduled coaching sessions make sense when the coach and the coachee are both aware that the process is providing value. As taught in the Center for Coaching Certification’s coach training, the coaching relationship continues only while the coachee is benefitting.

Measuring Coaching Results After Coaching Certification

Internal coaching programs measure the competencies of coaches and the results of the coaching program. This creates the opportunity for ensuring the appropriate training is in place and defining the value of the program. Coaching certification ensures a clear understanding of the role of the coach and develops coaching competencies. According to the International Coach Federation, the ICF, there are 11 Core Competencies for coaching certification within four groupings:

• Setting the Foundation – ethics and agreements
• Co-creating the Relationship – trust and presence
• Communication – listening, questioning, direct communication
• Facilitating Learning and Results – awareness, design actions, goal setting, accountability

How are coaching competencies measured?

• Assessment following coaching certification – completed by the trainer
• Observation by the coach’s coach – managed through the program administration
• Feedback from the constituency – surveys of coaches, coachees, those working with the coachees
• Coaching 360 – the Center for Coaching Certification has a 360 evaluation of coaching competencies

How are the results of the coaching program measured?

• Qualitative measures include: employee engagement, skill development, enhanced workplace relationships, employee wellness, and company culture.
• Quantitative measures include talent retention, turnover, productivity, and sales (based on the numbers in company reports from before and after the program implementation).

As a best practice, tie the measure to the program goals.

Funding the measure of coaching competencies and program effectiveness validates the program and leads to consistent benefit. It is possible to measure results on a tighter budget. For example:

• Use a survey tool such as Survey Monkey for a qualitative measure.
• Ask program participants to complete evaluation forms and compile results.
• Use company reports on turnover, productivity, and sales from before and after.
• Invite intern students to develop and complete a measurement.
• Work with coaching organizations that will measure results.

The coaching program design and management, as well as coach training for coaching certification, impact the results. Visit http://coachingblog.centerforcoachingcertification.com/ for a full series of blog posts on coaching program design and management.

Executive Coaching Certification, Business Coach Training, Career Coach Certification, or Life Coach Training to Differentiate Between Coaching, Mentoring, Training, and Managing

While these roles are often inter-mingled and misunderstood, a clear awareness of the value and distinctions of each role enhances positive results. In executive coaching certification, business coach training, career coach certification, or life coach training, the Center for Coaching Certification teaches each role is truly unique and distinct, serves a specific purpose, and is handled differently. Knowing how coaching is different and understanding the role is essential for a successful program. What does each do?

Mentor

• Provide expertise
• Gives advice
• Offers input

Manager

• Informs of decisions
• Provides direction
• Gives feedback

Trainer

• Assesses learning needs
• Develops training programs
• Manages learning environment
• Provides information
• Creates learning exercises

Coach

• Elicits the direction and expertise from the coachee
• Provides the process for the coachee to strategize and plan
• Empowers the coachee to make their own decisions and determine actions
• Asks the coachee how it is working and what they want to adjust
• Affirms coachee progress and success

Bottom line: In executive coaching certification, business coach training, career coach certification, or life coach training the Center for Coaching Certification teaches how coaching is different from the other roles in that the coach asks instead of tells, clarifies instead of opining, explores instead of giving direction, empowers choice instead of deciding on strategy or actions. The coach does empower the coachee, serve as a sounding board to give them space to explore, ask probing and clarifying questions to expand and challenge thinking, then asks the coachee to define what they want and how they will make it happen.

Coach Training for Internal Coaches

How important is coach training? As with any type of skilled work or service, training is essential. Coaching is a very specific process and is often misunderstood. Some think coaching is part training, part mentoring, part managing - and in reality it is very different. Executive, Career, Business, or Life Coaching is “partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.” (International Coach Federation)

The American Management Association, in their Global Study of Successful Practices, shared several major findings on coaching programs inside companies, including one on coach training:

Internal training programs are often based on common misunderstandings of coaching instead of being built on ICF’s 11 Core Competencies of a coach.

Specifically, the AMA recommend external training for internal coaches to achieve the best results.

What type of coach training is best?

• Ensure that the training is approved by the International Coach Federation.
  
• Maximize value with coach training that offers CEUs authorized by IACET.
  
• Verify the training is specifically designed to develop the ICF’s 11 Core Competencies of a coach.
  

What are the resources for coach-specific training? In addition to the Center for Coaching Solutions and the Center for Coaching Certification, the International Coach Federation at www.CoachFederation.org provides a list of hundreds of organizations that offer approved training programs.

Coaching Certification for Personal Trainers

Tom owns his own business as a successful personal trainer. As his client base grew, he realized he wanted to offer more to his clients. Tom had heard his clients concerns and excuses in many of the training sessions and he wanted more ways to help them. He realized they were stuck in self-defeating patterns so he looked for a way to help the whole person. Tom researched and found that coaching certification made sense.

Tom was drawn to coaching because it engages the client and fits well with his role as a motivator and accountability partner. He realized he already had a number of skills for successful coaching work. As a personal trainer, he understood the importance of proper training and knew this included the coaching field. He took the time and made the investment to master the skills and achieve his goals by becoming properly certified in an ICF-approved coach training program.

Tom already had a trusting relationship with his long standing clients so he had developed the rapport and knew their personalities. He decided to add coaching services to his personal traning agreement where he defined the roles and boundaries of the coaching relationship as taught in his ICF-approved coach training.

Now Tom uses his coaching certification to help his clients so they begin setting specific, measurable, and achievable short and long term goals. They choose to change their behavior patterns and create lasting success. His clients now have better results and stick with their training. He finds training and coaching both happen naturally during training sessions. Tom is now a well-being coach in addition to a personal trainer. He is more satisfied with his work and his clients are more satisfied with their results.

Complete Business Coaching Training or Earn Career Coach Certification and Use Whole Person Coaching

In whole person coaching, the coach takes time with the client to fully explore what they want in all areas of their life. Even when the focus of the coaching is on business or career, this makes sense because all areas of life influence focus and engagement at work. After exploring goals in all areas of life during an initial coaching session, future sessions are focused on the business or career. Then, when something from their life is impacting them, the client is comfortable discussing it because of the whole person coaching process.

In whole person coaching, the client has an initial 90 minute session. If you choose to or earn your career coach certification or complete executive coaching training, you will ask the client about what they want personally, in relationships, career, financially, health, and lifestyle. The coach listens, probes, and clarifies. The experience is amazing for the client because they think about what they want in all areas, and they say it out loud which creates a new level of awareness and focus.

During conversations, after you choose to complete business coaching training or earn your career coach certification, you are focused completely on the client. It is the coach’s responsibility to recognize the client’s personality in the moment so the coach can effectively adjust to the client. This is essential because we all have different sides of our personality at different times. The coach is also aware of client language patterns because questions are formulated based both on what the client says and how they say it.